Seven Steps
by Marshie12
Summary: How do you fall in love? Harry learns how to really fall in love. Harry Ginny pinch of RonHermione. Way fluffy!


**A/N**: Ok there is so much stuff I should be doing at the moment but… who really cares? Hmm well this fic. Kind of needs explaining! I was sitting there thinking about all the one-shots I have read (for some reason I only read one-shots… much faster. I can't concentrate on a single story for that long. Yet I seem to read a 700 page HARRY Potter book in… well pretty fast!) Right so I was "reflecting" and well I kind of get upset when like Harry and Ginny say they love each other like after their first kiss, when they hardly know the real Harry and Ginny. It's kind of fast don't you think? So I decided to a one-shot about them falling in love. Well this is how it works… they are like flashes of different steps Harry goes through eventually leading up to… the "L" word.

Ok I have never been in love though so… well this is really just my best guess at it. I apologize if it doesn't meet your standards. But c'mon who falls in love with someone they hardly know?

Right so this takes place over like a year… Harry's seventh year. The first one is in like September then the 2nd one is around October the third step is during Christmas break. The fourth one is Valentines Day the fifth one is Easter Holidays then the 6th is right before exams and finally the last one is like a week into Summer vacation! Just thought I'd clarify that in advance.

**Disclaimer**: We bad we know it… we bad I don't own it! (Eek that was Catchy!)

**_Seven steps to falling in Love (With Harry and Ginny)_**

_Step One: **Friendship**_

"Hello Mr. Potter!" Ginny said in a sing-song voice.

"Hi Ginny," he replied looking at her like she was an alien.

"How are you today?" she asked still singing everything she said.

"Err… fine?" he asked raising an eyebrow at her.

"Highly doubtful," she said in a normal voice sitting down beside him.

"Why?"

"Because you never seem to be 'Fine' these days Harry," she replied as he shifted slightly uncomfortable.

"Of course I am. I'm always fine!"

"Right… well anyhoo, what are you doing?" she asked trying to see what he was writing.

"Nothing," he replied simply.

"Doesn't look like nothing," she said trying to pry the now balled up piece of paper out of his hand.

"Oh no, no, no!" he said pushing her off him and back into her seat. "This is for Harry's eyes only!" he said smiling.

"Ooh a secret? I sure do love secrets Harry! You can tell me! I'm trustworthy!" she said pulling the most innocent face she could muster.

"Mrs. Weasley I'm afraid your halo is broken," he said laughing at her mock innocence.

"Fine!" she pouted. "Well that's okay because I know how to get it from you anyhow," she said smiling. She lifted her wand and gave him a little tickling charm. Harry began to grab his stomach and laugh mercilessly. "Aww man I love that you accidentally told me about how ticklish you are!" she smiled.

Harry eventually managed to pull his wand out of his pocket and with a quick "_finito_" the tickling stopped, but it was too late Ginny had grabbed the paper he dropped in an effort to stop his laughter. Her eyes widened as she read the first line and began to read aloud. "_Dear Susan, I'm really sorry to have to say this to you but I can't go with you to Hogsmeade because I'm not feeling very well_… aww Harry that's horrible!"

"What?"

"You shouldn't lie to her she'll see right through it! If you were sick you would go to Madame Pomfrey!"

"Right… well what should I say?" he asked hopeful.

"Why don't you go with her? It takes a lot of courage to ask a guy out."

"Yes I know but I wasn't lying about the part when I said I couldn't," he replied.

"You can't go to Hogsmeade?" she asked looking fairly upset.

"Nope… too dangerous!" he said rolling his eyes.

"Total bullocks!" she replied. "Adults are too protective. So do you really want to go with her?"

"Well she just wanted to talk to me about Ron," he replied simply.

"I thought she was asking you out," Ginny said flushing a bit.

"Nah she fancies Ron. I just don't want to be the one that has to tell her that he likes Hermione."

"You mean that prat finally admitted it to you?"

"No but he's horribly obvious isn't he? Don't know how Susan missed the memo," he said smiling at his best friend's lack of being able to hide his emotions.

"Well why don't me and you tell her tomorrow?"

"You mean you'll help me?" he asked hopeful.

"What are friends for? Plus you have to break into the kitchens with me. Ron told them to stop giving me food after I convinced the elves to put truth potion in his pumpkin juice."

She and Harry laughed at the awkward couple of days between Ron and Hermione after that little prank.

"Alright but you have to promise you'll stop putting hair frizzers in Hermione's drink. I think she's having trouble seeing with all that hair."

"You're no fun!" she pouted as she dragged him out of the common room.

_Step Two:_ **_Denial_**

Harry sat at a table in the common room with his two best friends.

"I really wish they would stop!" Ron yelled in aggravation, at the second years playing exploding snap, throwing his book back on the table.

"Well then tell them to stop. You are a Prefect remember!" Hermione reminded him with out even looking up from the book she was reading.

"Right," he replied trying not to look like a total loser in front of Hermione yet failing horribly. His face paled a bit but he reluctantly stood up to confront the noise makers.

As soon as he was out of earshot Hermione looked at Harry who was trying his best to get his Potions essay done but his mind kept drifting to well… _other_ things.

"Harry how is the essay coming?" she asked him smiling sweetly, but not the good kind of sweetly more like a I know a secret sweetly.

"Fine," he grunted although he had been working on it for almost twenty minutes now and only had his opening sentence written.

"Are you sure because you seem a bit distracted?" She still had that horribly sweet smile spread across her face.

"What do you mean?" he asked looking slightly confused.

"Oh nothing," she replied that sweetly smile now spread out across her eyes so they were glowing in mischief.

"Hermione what are you playing at?"

"I'm not the one who's playing Harry," she said simply. Harry still had no evidence of understanding on his face so Hermione continued, "Geese Harry do I have to spell it out for you? I'm talking about Ginny!" she said this fairly loudly and a couple of people turned to look at her but Harry was so shocked he didn't even notice.

"What about Ginny?" he asked slowly.

"Harry do you like her or not?" she asked extremely exasperated.

"Ginny? You think I like Ginny?" he asked fairly shocked.

"Harry I don't think… I know you like her!"

"Well I don't know where you got that idea because I… don't!" he said almost too vehemently.

"Oh really?"

"Yes really!"

"Well then how come I always see you with her and sometimes you walk her to class and you always make us sit by her at meals… and invite her to go see Hagrid and don't think I don't know about you two's midnight trips to the kitchens. Plus Ron's been saying you've been acting all weird… and I've noticed it too, you walk around here all… all _love-struck_!" she whispered the last phrase almost as if it were a curse word.

Harry's jaw dropped. "So I do all those things with you! Does that mean I like you too?"

"No Harry you do all those things with me _and Ron!"_ she emphasized the part about Ron.

"Hermione I don't like Ginny… I DON'T!" he yelled at the smile spread across her face.

"Thou dost protest too much!" she sang sweetly.

Harry just groaned. "We're just friends," he replied but Hermione caught the slight falter that crossed his face at his own sentence.

"Bloody hell, those second years are good at exploding snap!" Ron yelled sitting down back in his seat, his eyebrows still letting off a thin line of smoke.

"Ron you were supposed to make them stop, not play along with them!" Hermione scolded.

Ron flushed a little. "Bugger off Hermione it was the only way I could get them to stop."

Hermione looked at the second years still making a racket while playing another round. "Mission accomplished," she laughed sarcastically.

Harry completely missed all their banter. He was too busy thinking about the red head that had just entered the common room.

_Step Three: **Confession**_

_Dear Ginny,_

_I probably shouldn't be telling you this but well… I like you. A lot! In fact it's almost as if you have managed to jam yourself in my brain and don't seem to want to leave. That's mostly why I'm telling you because I can't seem to concentrate on anything and I was hoping a confession might just help me out a little. Now I'm not really expecting a response because well you don't like me except as a friend and I'm really just hoping I can just say this and it wont get all awkward but if you never want to see me again that is your choice so well um the balls in you court…_

Harry looked up from the sheet of paper he was rambling on in his dorm by wand light at about three in the morning. Maybe now he'd get some sleep. Of course he's not going to give it to her but maybe just writing it and forgetting it would at least help him get some sleep. He couldn't hurt anything by just writing it.

He threw on his favorite jumper and shoved the letter in his pocket, when he realized it wasn't going to help him sleep, and crawled his way down the dark boy's staircase.

It was most definitely cold tonight.

The fire in the common room was smoldering a little as if the flames had just burned out seconds ago. He sat on his favorite sofa absorbing the darkness around him. As soon as his eyes fully adjusted to the darkness a bright light interrupted his reverie. A wand light to be more accurate.

"Harry?"

Harry could finally make-out the figure holding the blinding light in his eyes. "Ginny you have the most powerful _lumos_ light I have ever seen!"

"Sorry," she sighed putting it out and lighting a few candles that were sitting on the tables abound them. "I wasn't expecting to find anyone else in the common room at three a.m.!" she exclaimed. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I couldn't sleep," Harry replied as she sat beside him on the couch.

"Ron says you haven't been sleeping well for the past couple weeks," she said looking concerned. "Is it _him_?"

"No."

"Good!" she smiled.

"It's worse."

"Worse than you-know-who?" she asked looking horrified.

He nodded although he was smiling at the look on her face.

"What's worse than you-know-who?" she asked very confused by the fact he was smiling.

"A girl," he whispered softly.

"Oh," was all she gave for a reply but began to rub her arms which were now covered in Goosebumps. Harry slid off his jumper when he felt her shiver beside him. "Thanks," she whispered as she pulled it over her pajama shirt. It was so big on her the sleeves covered her hands but she shoved them in the pocket anyway. As soon as she did this a realization dawned upon Harry… he had put the letter-

"What's this?" Ginny asked pulling the letter out of Harry's pocket and beginning to unfold it. Harry made a grab for it but Ginny just turned away and began reading it.

"Gin, it… it's nothing," he sputtered as he heard her gasp. "It's err… not mine," he attempted to plead weakly as she finished reading and turned toward him.

Ginny just stared at him as if it was taking all her concentration just to keep breathing. "Gin stop looking at me like that! It's looks like that, that made me…" Harry immediately stopped talking when he felt her place her small hand on his. His eyes grew big and all he could do was stare at her just as she stared at him.

So they sat and stared with equally goofy grins spread across their faces.

Soon after that Harry fell asleep in his bed. It was the best sleep Harry had had in weeks… it was the only sleep Harry had had in weeks.

_Step Four: **Dating**_

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand as they began their walk around the lake.

"I'm sorry we couldn't go to Hogsmeade this weekend," he sighed looking at her.

"It's okay. I'd much rather be here with you anyway," she said smiling.

"I'd rather be here with you too," he replied smiling with her and weaving his fingers with hers.

"It's cold," she said as a shiver ran up her spine.

"Yeah do you want to go back?" he asked rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.

She shook her head really hard to help emphasize her point. "No," she said softly.

He took off his jumper just as he had done that night in the common room and placed it lightly on her shoulders.

"Thanks," she whispered her eyes shining and her face lit up with a smile.

"No problem," he said going to grab her hand again.

"What are Ron and Hermione doing today?" she asked stopping to skip rocks in the lake.

"I don't know," he said tossing a rock. It didn't skip but went straight into the dark icy water.

Ginny smiled sweetly and tossed her rock. It skipped softly across the water at least ten times before finally falling below the surface. "I win," she whispered smiling even bigger.

"Oh yes you do. And what, may I ask, do you win?" he asked very much knowing what the answer was.

"Why you, silly," she said leaning in to initiate a soft kiss. It was short but special for it was their first kiss and it happened on their first date.

Ginny smiled again as they pulled away.

"You better stop smiling before your face gets stuck like that!" Harry said, while he himself had a huge smile plastered across his face.

"I know but I just can't stop," she giggled.

"Good, me neither," he replied pulling her in for another kiss.

She grabbed his hand as they restarted their walk around the lake. They strolled for awhile with her head resting upon his shoulder stopping every now and then to skip rocks or kiss again but they did so in peaceful silence, for there was nothing else to say. After a couple laps around the lake the students began to start heading back from Hogsmeade and Harry led a fairly cold Ginny back towards the castle while spinning her around and doing silly little dance moves the whole way back. Yet their fingers remained interweaved never once even thinking about breaking them apart.

"Happy Valentines day Gin," he whispered when they reached the common room.

_Step Five: **Intimacy** (not that kind you dirty little person!)_

"Harry you have to admit it's kind of weird you dating my little sister!" Ron repeated for the twelfth time since he had found out about Harry and Ginny.

"Why? What's so weird about it?" Harry asked as the climbed the staircase to the Gryffindor common room at the end of the day.

"I don't know. It's just odd."

"You are the one that wanted us to go out in the first place," Harry said eyeing Ron.

"Yeah well I didn't say I wasn't happy about it. It's just going to take a bit getting used to," Ron muttered.

They finished walking up the staircase when Ron stopped right in front of the Fat Lady. "Okay Harry for the next moment we are not best friends," Ron said altogether serious.

Harry stopped and stared at Ron. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not talking to you as a friend but as Ginny's older brother. Okay?"

Harry nodded slowly.

"Good so all I want to say is it you hurt her I'll kill you!" and he smiled and entered the common room.

Harry just stood there in the entranceway shocked at Ron when he felt two feminine arms encircle his waist.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Gin you're brother is the weirdest person I've ever met," he said turning to her.

"This is true," she said grabbing his hand and leading him back down the staircase.

"Gin where are we going?" he asked once he realized he was going back the way he had just come.

"It's a surprise," she smiled.

"You know I hate surprises," he groaned.

"Okay I was kidding anyway," she smiled. "I just wanted to go somewhere and talk," she said as she stopped outside the Room of Requiem. She opened the door to reveal a room almost exactly like the Gryffindor common room. She dragged him inside and sat him down on his favorite couch or one that looked an awful lot like it while she sat down on the floor next to him.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked slightly confused still.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?" he was really confused now.

"Tell me a secret," she said softly.

"Gin you lost me."

"You know a secret," she said turning to look at him, "something no one else knows!"

"Um are you sure you want to know?" he asked morosely.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Okay…" he gulped, "It has to be me."

Ginny looked at him confused and climbed up onto the couch.

"What has to be you?"

"Voldermort. I'm the one that has to do it… and if I can't then we are all as good as dead," he sated monotonously.

"What?" she looked at him as if he was about to say "Haha I'm just kidding Gin!" but he didn't he just nodded. "How long… when did you find out?"

"Almost two years."

"So you carried this around with you for two years?"

He just shrugged.

She shook her head as hard as she could as if maybe it would wake her up. "No it cant be you!" she practically yelled.

"Well it is," he replied reaching out to grab her hand but she pulled it away.

"No it cant be you because… because I… I love you." She felt her eyes sting with tears.

Harry looked shocked at her confession.

"It's what I wanted to tell you," she sobbed. "That's why I brought you down here."

Harry looked as though he had just been stabbed.

"I think I should go," he muttered.

And he left her there… lost in her tears.

_Step Six: **Realization**_

"Harry is everything alright?" Hermione asked as Ron left for the kitchens to get a snack. It could take hours until he would return.

"I'm fine," he replied with a weak smile.

"Don't even try to pull that on me Harry Potter! I haven't seen you this upset sense you started going out with Ginny!"

Harry dropped his head when she said her name.

Sudden realization swept over Hermione. "Oh my. Something happened with Ginny didn't it?"

Harry didn't respond.

"That's why you leave when she enters a room! Harry what happened?" she asked suddenly. Her voice dripping with friendly compassion. "You can trust me."

Harry had never seen her more serious about anything, so before he knew it he was spilling his heart… well not the part about Voldermort, she wasn't ready for that and he didn't think he could handle another reaction like Ginny's. "Ginny said she loved me," he murmured.

She gasped and smiled. "Wait, what's so bad about that?"

Harry looked ashamed at himself. "I like Gin a lot but I'm not sure I love her… well at least not yet. Plus there is all this other… stuff."

"Harry I've never seen two people better for each other than you and Ginny. If you aren't ready yet then Ginny will wait," she said softly.

"Well what if she's waiting forever?"

"She wont be. You'll feel it eventually."

"How will I know?"

"You'll know," she smiled at something within her head.

"Hermione?" Harry asked wide-eyed.

"Yes?"

"Do you know?" he asked smiling at her.

"Know what?"

"Whoa! Who is it?"

"Huh?"

"Who was that smile for?"

Hermione blushed like a Weasley. "Ron," she forced out.

"But… but when?" Harry stammered. "I didn't know you two were together!"

"We're not! But I just can't help it!" she stammered.

"It's cool Hermione. I kind of always knew you two were in love."

"Two?" Hermione's head snapped up and his words.

"Oh no, no, no this is not for me to tell!" Harry shook his head.

Just then Ron returned with a plate of cookies.

"Hermione I brought you some cookies," he said completely ignorant to Harry's snort of laughter and Hermione's smile and blush.

"Thanks Ron," she smiled again forcing the blush off her face.

"Did I miss something?" he asked looking from Harry to Hermione.

"Yep!" Harry smiled. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit!" he smiled getting up.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"I only just realized something!" he smiled and ran up the boy's stairs.

_Step Seven: **"I Love You!"**_

Harry slowly opened his eyes to find everything covered in white.

"Harry?" she breathed.

"Gin," he said weakly when he noticed her lying beside him in his bed. "Where am I?" he said weakly.

She grabbed a glass of water off the table beside the bed and handed it to him. "St. Mungos," she said gravely. "You… you've been in a coma for about a week now."

She awkwardly climbed off his bed and tipped the glass towards his mouth and he gulped the water down.

"Thanks," he murmured when she took it away.

She nodded and smiled at him. The first smile she'd worn in quite awhile.

"What happened?" he asked looking extremely confused.

"You happened," she smiled.

"What?"

"You did it Harry. You beat him."

Harry grabbed her hand that was resting on the side of his bed.

"No you beat him. It was you, Gin."

He grabbed her hand and pulled it towards himself gesturing for her to resume her position. She climbed back into his hospital bed and cuddled closer to him. He could feel her shaking beside him so he rubbed her back trying to calm her.

"Don't worry Gin I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.

"I know."

"Gin?"

"Yeah Harry?"

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

And he meant it.

_A/N: What did you think? Should I do one for Ginny? Hermione? Ron? I had to throw some Ron/Hermione in there… too good to pass up! I didn't mean to make it so serious! Oh well. It got a little too dark for the last like three steps but what else could I do? Oh well I'll let you go! Audi!_


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